Approaching the end of the current administration?s term of office, the House of Representative (?House?), passed the Bill on Geothermal Energy (?Bill?) on August 26th. The Bill aims to boost the development of the geothermal business sector as an alternative source of energy, and to address Indonesia?s current electricity shortages and energy needs.

The government has ratified the 2001 International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage (commonly referred as ?2001 Bunker Convention?), through the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 65 of 2014 (?2014 Regulation?).

In essence, the Third Amendment aims to provide incentives in the form of competitive export duty tariffs for all mining companies that commit to constructing a smelter(s) in Indonesia. Incentive levels vary from one mining company to another and are dependent on the construction progress of their smelter, from 0% (no export duty), 5% to 7.5%. Additionally, the Third Amendment also changed the export tariffs for concentrated minerals for mining companies that aren?t committed to constructing their own smelter.

Aiming to provide an integrated and comprehensive framework to preserve Indonesia?s land and water resources, the House of Representatives has initiated a Draft Bill on Land and Water Conservation (?Draft Bill?).

The Minister of Trade (?Minister?) recently established new procedures for exporting coal through the issue of Regulation No. 39/M-DAG/PER/7/2014 of 2014 titled Provisions on Coal Exports and Coal Products (?Regulation?).

The Amendment sets out electricity tariffs for domestic use to range between IDR 1,090/kWh to IDR 1,352/kWh, to be determined based on the user?s power supply threshold (batas daya), subscription fee, and subscription type (postpaid and prepaid). Meanwhile the electricity tariffs for industrial use will range from IDR 896/kWh to IDR 1,191/kWh, with tariffs similarly is based on the user?s power supply threshold and business type (private or listed).

As mandated by Article 11 (2) of Law No. 30 of 2007 on Energy (?Energy Law?), the House of Representatives has approved the Government?s Draft Regulation on National Energy Policy (?2014 Government Regulation?) which set outs guidelines for energy management policy planning until 2050.

The Regulation sets out the criteria and procedures for appointing a business as a supplier and distributor of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in specific areas.

As further follow-up to the recently implemented mineral export ban, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (?ESDM Minister?) recently issued Regulation No. 11 of 2014 titled Procedures and Requirements for Granting Recommendations to Sell Processed and Purified Minerals (?ESDM Regulation?).

The Industry Regulation does not provide details on to how a Recommendation will be secured, instead it provides that the relevant authority will be delegated to the Director General of Manufacturing-Based Industries (Art. 2 (3), Industry Regulation).